An Offer You Can't Resist
by stargazing.from.earth
Summary: I'm writing oneshots! Totally free of charge, so get right in line and get your very own shiny new oneshot! (#1: Something Wicked This Way Comes, in which Evil Hal is locked up in Charleston and has a pretty creepy conversation with his brothers.)
1. Request Here!

**I'll make you an offer you can't resist...**

To work on different scenarios, with different characters and different emotions, I am offering a once in a lifetime opportunity:

_I'm writing oneshots for anyone who wants one, free of charge! Yes, you heard me right, free of charge! (Although reviews would be lovely, and/or cookies, neither is required.)_

(Really, though, anyone could ask at any time and I'd still gladly write one for someone.)

How's the car saleswoman bit coming across?

ANYWAY, I'll write a oneshot for you, of at least 1700 words, including anything you want.

You want a Hal/Lourdes oneshot of them swimming? You got it!

You want something with Ben and Dai fighting off mechs? You can have that too!

You want Karen killing Tom?

...what are you, sick?

Of course you can't have that!

But anyway, after my sad attempt at being entertaining...

Any pairing, any genre, you could even give me an OC to work with...Perhaps insert yourself in the story because you'd just love to see what it's like to date a Mason boy? (Really, who can blame you?)

I do love OC's...Anyway!

Whatever you want, you go it.

So just leave your request in a review, or PM me if you'd like and I'll happily write whatever you want to read! See, this is a win-win scenario! It helps me work on my skills, and it gives you a lovely little oneshot for your enjoyment :)

**Leave a request and I'll get to work straight away!**


	2. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**For DriftingCloudz.**

**In which Hal is evil, locked up in Charleston, and has a pretty creepy conversation with his brothers.**

**Word Count: 1,301**

**(so not quite 1,700, but I wasn't sure I could drag this scene out any longer)**

The two younger Mason boys paced the floor beside the cell uneasily. Behind the solid metal beams, locked up beyond any means of reach, was their brother. Their brother, who, however much he wasn't to blame for his actions, had taken their father hostage.

Reconciling this terrifying Hal with the usual teasing, caring one was difficult for Matt and Ben.

There he sat, staring at them through his cold, dark eyes without saying a word, and the whole time, Ben could only think of his older brother before the invasion. Then, he used to call him a 'math geek', ruffle Matt's hair embarrassingly, and exit the house on his way to whatever sports game was on the agenda for that day.

Now, _this_ Hal would just as soon take a gun to Ben's head as he would joke around with him.

Matt, for his part, couldn't stop staring at the wicked grin spread across his elder brother's face. The grin, showing dangerous-looking white teeth, appeared the same as it was before, but Matt couldn't help but think it was completely different. Somehow, Hal's comforting smiles had turned into a source of terror for the younger Mason, causing him nightmares beyond belief, where his older brother smirked menacingly like the Cheshire cat. Just paint him with pink stripes and he would've bared a striking resemblance, albeit more heinous.

"C'mon Mattie, just open the door," Hal called, his smile verging on sweet- though Ben could see the malice hidden behind it. "You wouldn't really leave your own brother locked up, would you?"

Hal's calls were mocking to both brothers, who couldn't- and _wouldn't_- do anything to help him. He was infected, polluted, contaminated, with the alien bug and until they found a solution, he wasn't their brother, not really. He was something otherworldly, and horrifying, and even though he seemed so familiar, he couldn't be trusted.

At least, that was the speech Captain Weaver had given both boys when he had assigned them to keep watch of Hal. Of course, another, less biased soldier stood guard at the entrance to the lock-up, just in case. Weaver had the idea that if the remaining Mason boys could see Hal, then they could discern the old him from the present, and they could understand for themselves why he couldn't stay out in the open in Charleston.

Admittedly for Weaver, Hal's lock-up was about more than just keeping the citizens of Charleston safe. If the people there found out what was going on within Tom Mason's son, they would surely riot and kill him- burn him at the stake like a witch, if they possibly could. And for all Weaver hated Hal's actions and all the torture he'd put the new America through, he was still Tom Mason's son, and Captain Dan Weaver knew he held a responsibility to keep him safe. With the absence of Anne and Alexis, Tom couldn't bare to lose another of his family.

"Please, Matt," Hal pleaded, his eyes still dark and troubled. "I'm better, I swear, the bug flew out of me as soon as dad found out." The ghastly grin had left his face, and the boy's eyes now welled up in tears.

Matt was conflicted. It _was _still his brother, after all, wasn't it? How could he leave someone he loved to sit alone in a cold empty cell? Matt hesitantly reached for the door, but Ben cut him off, giving Matt a scolding look.

Ben crouched down until he was on his younger brother's level, and ruffled his hair a bit. "I know it's hard, Matt, but that isn't Hal. We'll get him back, though, don't worry." Matt threw his arms around his brother, but continued staring at the one who was locked up with a hopeless look across his young face.

Hal stared back, smiling again, and there was something haunting in his expression. Something that certainly hadn't been there before, because it sent chills down Matt's spine at the sight.

In a matter of a few days, Matt had lost his new found maturity and reverted back to the days when his father was missing, when Ben had to wake him up from nightmares nearly every night. Here he was again- he could see his body with his very own eyes, but Hal, who'd always been there for him, was _missing_.

Ben looked at his older brother with a mixture of disgust and apprehension in his expression. "If that were the case- if the bug really was gone- you'd have let dad go the minute you knew."

Hal's grin somehow grew wider, seeming to take over his entire face, spread from ear to ear, and Matt cowered into Ben in fear. There was something terribly unsettling about this.

"He's just trying to get to you," Ben whispered to Matt, stroking his hair a bit like their mother used to do when Matt got upset. Strangely enough, it often happened when Hal would tease Matt. However much things seemed to change, they never did on a whole.

"It's no use, comforting him," Hal said loudly, making sure both boys could hear. "It'll all end soon anyway."

The Mason sons turned to look at each other, and Matt started whimpering. Hal's smile quirked up even more at the sound, and he continued, "Fighting with them will only kill you off sooner. The resistance is useless."

Ben's eyes hardened and he wrapped his arms more protectively around his little brother, positioning him behind him in case anything was to happen. It would hurt Ben to hurt his older brother, but he knew he had the ability if it came to that- if it came between choosing Matt and Hal to save. With Hal in this state, it was hard _not _to want to throw a good punch at him.

"The Espheni have weapons you can't even dream of," Hal said in a low, conspiratorial whisper. "They'll take out you humans in three months time. Obliterate them. You'd do well to join our side."

Matt shook his head, gathering his courage, and forced out a stammering, "N-no. We'll fight the aliens f-forever."

Hal laughed a little, a dark, humorless chuckle, at his younger brother's pallid determination. His shadowy eyes grew serious after a second, and he said, "I'm your brother. I'm looking out for you. You'll die unless you make the right choice. They'll kill you, rip out your insides, and feed you to the skitters. It's a _hard_ choice, I know, but I've made it. So can you."

The younger Mason boy trembled, not replying, so Hal turned to the older one, who carried a steeled expression and a clenched jaw. "Ben, you could finally be at peace with your spikes. No one would call you a freak. Really, you'd be revered, seen as someone worth something. Not the nothing you are now."

When Ben heard the last words, he fought off the temptation to give in. He knew his own brother would never say something as cruel as that, even to get under his skin. He knew that he was just trying to manipulate him.

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," Ben said, his voice cold and brittle.

Hal raised his eyebrows nefariously and said, in a soft voice so unlike Hal both boys couldn't help but blanch, "Then you'll be joining me sooner than you think." He tilted his head to the side, so both boys could see the bug slithering around inside his eye socket.

The younger Mason boys stepped away from the cell and away from Hal as they realized for the final time- a cold hard truth- that they'd lost their brother for the time being. And seeing that bug within him, they didn't think they could honestly ever get him back.


End file.
